A pension risk transfer (also known as an annuity buyout) can be one of the most significant events in the lifecycle of a defined benefit plan. Because of the importance and complexity of this transaction, we think it is essential that plan sponsors team up with the right implementation partner to help ensure the smoothest transfer of assets.

In this paper, we explore:

• The substantial risk of adverse market movements and why it is so important to minimize the risk of the target assets quickly and build the hedging portfolio
• Why investment managers may not be the best choice to execute a successful transfer
• Risk transfer annuity payments strategies
• Three threads in a risk transfer implementation
• Four steps for in-kind risk transfers
• A best practice checklist to help you select the right risk transfer implementation partner